Digestive System Disease, Hookworms

Hookworm, or Ancylostoma duodenale, infection begins when the worm is in the larval stage. It penetrates the skin, usually of the feet, migrates during its life cycle through the liver and the lungs, and attaches to the mucosa of the small intestine where it matures. Hookworms deplete the body of nutrients, and a major effect is severe chronic iron-deficiency

Molcho, Solomon

The son of Marrano parents (Portuguese or Spanish Jews forced to become Christians), Pires attained the position of royal secretary in a Portuguese high court of justice. When an Arabian adventurer, David Reubeni, arrived in Portugal, Pires became possessed by mystic

Papua New Guinea, Flag Of

In the 20th century the two territories finally linked in Papua New Guinea were administered by the Germans, British, and Australians. The colonial governments had no official symbols of local relevance, although a proposed coat of arms for German New Guinea - never adopted because of Germany's involvement in World War I - featured a bird-of-paradise. In 1962 a local flag also

English Literature, Drama

Apart from the short-lived attempt by T.S. Eliot and Christopher Fry to bring about a renaissance of verse drama, theatre in the late 1940s and early 1950s was most notable for the continuing supremacy of the �well-made� play, which focused upon, and mainly attracted as its audience, the comfortable middle class. The most interesting playwright working within this mode was Terence

Tsubouchi Shoyo

Pseudonym of �Tsubouchi Yuzo � playwright, novelist, critic, and translator who occupied a prominent position in Japanese letters for nearly half a century. He wrote the first major work of modern Japanese literary criticism, Shosetsu shinzui (1885 - 86; �The Essence of the Novel�), translated the complete works of William Shakespeare, helped found the modern Japanese

Badminton

Many badminton experts were surprised when 20-year-old Peter Gade Christensen of Denmark finished 1997 on top of the men's singles world rankings. At the Japan Open in January 1998, however, Gade Christensen easily defeated Luo Yigang of China to win the sport's first major event of the year and proved his number-one status was no accident. Gong Zhichao of China rose to the top of

Sarcocystis

Genus of sporozoan parasites (phylum Protozoa) that are found in the heart and skeletal muscles of mammals (cattle, pigs, sheep, and man), birds, and reptiles. Infected muscle tissue contains white, cystlike masses (sarcocysts) that range from 25 micrometres (0.001 inch) to several millimetres in length. Each sarcocyst is divided into walled compartments, and each compartment

Behring, Emil Von

Behring received his medical degree in 1878 from the Friedrich-Wilhelms-Institut,

Alignment

Monument consisting of multiple rows of large upright stones, primarily located in Brittany and built during Neolithic and Early Bronze times. See megalith.

Pre-columbian Civilizations, The earliest Maya civilization of the lowlands

By the Late Formative, the lowland Maya had begun to shape a civilization that was to become the greatest in the New World. The Pet�n-Yucat�n Peninsula lacks many raw materials and has a relatively low agricultural potential. But what it does have in limitless quantities is readily quarried limestone for building purposes and flint for stonework. Cement and plaster

Anthracnose

Plant disease of warm humid areas that infects a variety of plants from trees to grasses. It is caused by certain fungi (usually Colletotrichum or Gloeosporium) producing spores in tiny, sunken, saucer-shaped fruiting bodies (acervuli). Symptoms include sunken spots of various colours in leaves, stems, fruits, or flowers. The spots often enlarge, leading to wilting, withering,

Balearic Islands

The archipelago lies 50 to 190 miles (80 to 300 km) east of the Spanish mainland and has a land area of 1,936 square miles (5,014 square km). There are two groups of islands. The eastern and larger

Kwandebele

Former nonindependent black state and enclave in central Transvaal province, South Africa, that was a self-governing �national state� for Transvaal Ndebele people from 1981 to 1994. KwaNdebele was located in a 3,500-foot- (1,060-metre-) high dry savanna area about 100 miles (160 km) northeast of Johannesburg. It was established in 1979, when many Transvaal Ndebele were expelled from the nearby Bophuthatswana

Condor Legion

German �Legion Condor, � a unit of the German air force, or Luftwaffe, detailed by Hermann G�ring for special duty with General Francisco Franco's Nationalist forces in the Spanish Civil War (1936 - 39). It was sent to Franco on the condition that it stay under German command. The Legion consisted of four bomber squadrons (of 12 bombers each) and four fighter squadrons and was backed by antiaircraft and antitank

Hawke (of Towton), Edward Hawke, 1st Baron

Hawke joined the navy in February 1720 and was promoted to rear admiral for his distinguished service against the French in the War of the Austrian Succession (1740 - 48). In October 1747 he captured six French warships in a brilliant

Neosho River

It has a drainage area of 12,660 square miles (32,789 square km), and flow at its mouth varies from 133,000 cubic feet (3,800 cubic m) per second to as little as 35 cubic feet (1 cubic m). In Kansas,

Altichiero

Altichiero began his career in Verona, where he remained for a number of years, although nothing is known of his work from this period. In 1370 he moved to Padua, perhaps at the

Aesthetics, Post-Hegelian aesthetics

Little of 19th-century aesthetics after Hegel has proved of lasting interest. Perhaps the most important exception is the controversial literature surrounding Richard Wagner, particularly the attack on the expressive theory of music launched by Wagner's critic Eduard Hanslick in his Vom musikalisch-Sch�nen (1854; On the Beautiful in Music). With this work modern musical

Vesalius, Andreas

Vesalius' work represented the culmination of the humanistic revival of ancient learning, the introduction of human dissections into medical curricula, and the growth of a European anatomical literature. Vesalius performed his dissections with a thoroughness hitherto unknown. After Vesalius, anatomy became a scientific discipline, with far-reaching implications

Rose Of Lima, Saint

Born into a wealthy family, Rosa (the name by which she was always known) was drawn to penitential practices and a spiritual

Lock Haven

City, seat (1839) of Clinton county, north-central Pennsylvania, U.S. It lies along the West Branch Susquehanna River (a major tributary of the Susquehanna), on the southern slope of Bald Eagle Mountain, 26 miles (42 km) southwest of Williamsport. Founded in 1834 by Jeremiah Church, a land speculator, it was laid out on the site of the frontier post, Fort Reed, and developed as a lumbering centre.

Shahr-e Sokhta

Archaeological site located south of Zabol in the Balochistan region of eastern Iran. It has yielded important information on Chalcolithic (Bronze Age) settlement in the Helmand River valley during the 3rd millennium BC. Excavation of the site in 1967 by the Centre of Archaeological Studies and Excavations of the Italian Institute for the Middle and Far East has revealed

Aomori

Northernmost ken (prefecture) on the island of Honshu, Japan. It is bordered by the Pacific Ocean (east), the Tsugaru Strait (north), and the Sea of Japan (west). The peninsulas of Tsugaru and Shimokita enclose Mutsu Bay. Aomori has a relatively poor agricultural economy that is handicapped by long, cold, snowy winters and poor drainage. Rice and Japan's largest apple crop are

Tablature

Lute tablatures were of three main varieties, French, Italian (used also in Spain), and German. The French type, used c. 1500 - c. 1800, proved to be the most practical and contained an important

Ectopic Pregnancy

In tubal ectopic pregnancy the ovum becomes implanted in one of the fallopian tubes. This condition is not uncommon, occurring about once in 250 to 300 pregnancies and more frequently

Hippocratic Oath

Ethical code attributed to the ancient Greek physician Hippocrates, adopted as a guide to conduct by the medical profession throughout the ages and still used in the graduation ceremonies of many medical schools. Although little is known of the life of Hippocrates - or, indeed, if he was the only practitioner of the time using this name - a body of manuscripts, called

Iron Age

Final technological and cultural stage in the Stone - Bronze - Iron-Age sequence. The date of the full Iron Age, in which this metal for the most part replaced bronze in implements and weapons, varied geographically, beginning in the Middle East and southeastern Europe about 1200 BC but in China not until about 600 BC. Although in the Middle East iron had limited use as a scarce and precious

Uruguay

Country located on the southeastern coast of South America. The second smallest nation on the continent, Uruguay has long been overshadowed politically and economically by the adjacent republics of Brazil and Argentina, with both of which it shares many cultural and historical similarities. �On the map, surrounded by its large neighbors, Uruguay seems tiny,� writes